Landen Lewis will pay homage to his mentor and close friend, Ron Hornaday, with a special tribute paint scheme on his No. 45 J.F. Electric Chevrolet Silverado on October 30 at Martinsville Speedway.
With an incredible career highlighted by a record-setting four NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) championships (‘96, ‘97, ‘07, and ‘09) and 51 race wins, Hornaday was inducted into the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame earlier this week.
In 2018, Hornaday was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame and in 2023 was formally recognized as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers, cementing his legacy as one of the all-time greats.
In recent years, Hornaday has served as a mentor and driver development coach for Lewis. Hornaday’s influence has been invaluable in molding Lewis into a rising star on and off the race track.
Lewis’ truck will sport an iconic look which harkens back to Hornaday’s No. 33 Camping World Silverado that he raced for Kevin Harvick Inc. in 2007 and 2008. This paint scheme visited victory lane on nine occasions with Hornaday behind the wheel, and was the primary design for his 2007 NCTS championship run.
“This scheme brings back some great memories for me, and I know it will for Ron, too,” said Harvick. “He won a lot of races and a championship for KHI in these colors. It’s a fitting way to celebrate all he’s accomplished. There’s no doubt Landen is going to be especially proud to race this truck.”
Hornaday’s ties to Niece Motorsports are not exclusive to Lewis, having also worked alongside Ron Paradiso (NASCAR Winston West Series mechanic from 1992-1993), Phil Gould (NASCAR Busch Series car chief in 2004), Wally Rogers (NCTS crew chief from 2005-2006), and Gary Labretone (NCTS front tire changer in 2008).
“I am so excited to honor Ron by racing one of his most dominant and recognizable paint schemes on my truck at Martinsville,” said Lewis. “Ron and his family have meant so much to me on both a personal and professional level, and I am very thankful for everything they have done for me. Having J.F. Electric’s support to allow us to run these colors on their truck is awesome, and the team did a great job with the design. I hope we can be just as fast as Ron was when he raced it.”
The paint scheme, which was kept secret from Hornaday, was unveiled today at the team’s Fan Day. It was an emotional moment for the Palmdale, CA native, who was caught by surprise with the gesture.
“When I first saw the truck I thought, ‘Man, I didn’t think J.F. Electric was blue and yellow,’ but then I did a double take and realized – wow, that’s my championship truck!” said Hornaday. “It’s so special, and I can’t thank Landen and everyone at Niece Motorsports and J.F. Electric enough for surprising me like this.”
“This truck is one of my favorites that I ever raced. Kevin Harvick gave me a rocket ship at every race track, and the support that Camping World and Marcus Lemonis gave us was just unbelievable, Hornaday continued. “To see Landen bring this truck back to life and have my name on the side of it means so much to my family and I. I’m not an emotional guy, but once I see tire marks all down the side of it and a grandfather clock next to it, it will be hard to hold the tears back.”
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to Martinsville Speedway on Friday, October 30 for the penultimate race of the season. Live coverage of the 200-lap race will air on FOX Sports 1, NRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
–Niece Motorsports —